


Affirmation, Opposition

by DoomedTemperament



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Ultimate Talents (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Debate Club, Fluff, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, localized name usage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-14
Updated: 2018-07-14
Packaged: 2019-06-10 05:19:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15284532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomedTemperament/pseuds/DoomedTemperament
Summary: “We don’t have any topics to discuss at the moment,” Kiibo said, then perked up. “I could always look some up though! I have the perfect database bookmarked on my phone.”As Kiibo pulled his phone out of his pocket, Shuichi glanced around.“Who will I be debating against?” He asked.“How about me?” Kokichi said. “Let’s see how good you can get! I’ll try to go easy on you too! ...but that’s a lie.”(Also known as, the debate club AU that you didn't know you needed.)





	Affirmation, Opposition

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ferretgirlsz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ferretgirlsz/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Ideal Cynic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/2076186) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account). 



> So uhhhhhhhh to preface this, I'm not 100% done with the game yet, so if there are any characterization flaws, they're entirely on me. But I really, really, REALLY wanted to write something for these two, and the idea of a debate club AU for these two was an absolute perfect fit (I may or may not have been inspired by a fic from my old AoT days...) I'm not gonna claim to know much about debate teams or how they work, I'm only going off of research that I've pulled up online, and I can't guarantee it'll be totally accurate, but I hope you all enjoy it.
> 
> Chapter 2 coming out whenever I can get past my writer's block.

“You could always join the debate club,” Kaede said, twirling her pencil between her fingers with a smile. “I think it would suit you.”

Shuichi frowned. “Why do you say that?”

To provide context for the conversation:

The school year had started on a beautiful spring April. Shuichi was as dedicated to his schoolwork as any other typical student- which is to say, enough to make passing grades, but not enough to earn any spectacular marks. Each day was the same; Diligently sitting through his lessons, quietly eating his lunch by himself in the classroom, and going home to do homework and enjoy the quieter moments before dinner and his nightly routine. And normally, he was fine with that- at least, until he met Kaede Akamatsu.

On one fateful day, Kaede had accidentally left her bookbag in the classroom before she ate lunch, and had hurried back to retrieve it. When she spotted Shuichi by himself, she had apparently felt a twinge of sympathy for his situation, and struck up a conversation with him. Shuichi, to his own surprise, had responded with something akin to enthusiasm, and from that day on, Kaede had carefully and skillfully coaxed him out of his shell. To her, at least.

Shuichi had made several acquaintances throughout the school year, but nothing substantial beyond that, and his hesitance around the others had prevented him from joining any clubs. That, and they all tended to disinterest him. 

Kaede had noticed this fact, and had begun to pester him about it, claiming that “school clubs were an important part of the high school experience”, and that it would “look good for his future”, and other explanations. While Shuichi believed her, he had still struggled to find a club to suit his tastes, especially considering it was now roughly a month into the school year and many clubs weren’t taking applicants so late. He had considered the literature club, the chess club, and the creative writing club, but none of them were taking new members, and none of the other clubs seemed like they’d hold his interest.

Which is how he had come to get help from Kaede, and subsequently led to the conversation they were currently having after school.

“What makes you think it would suit me?” Shuichi asked, tilting his head.

“Well, you want to go into criminology, right? Be a detective and all that? I think you could learn a lot from it. And it’d probably help you make more friends, too,” She teased.

Shuichi lifted his hat just a bit so he could see her more clearly, and saw the hint of seriousness in her expression. It was fleeting, but after a moment of thinking, he conceded.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt to try.”

* * *

Fortunately for Shuichi, Kaede knew exactly which room the debate club was in, and that they were having a meeting on that day. Unfortunately for Shuichi, as he stepped into the room, he realized that his potential clubmates were _batshit crazy._

“It’s not my fault your fugly ass sucks at research,” A boy with purple hair and wearing a checkered scarf said in an unamused tone of voice.

“Who are you calling fugly, you little gremlin? I’ve been busy researching other things!” A blonde girl wearing a surprisingly scandalous take on the school uniform shouted back at him.

“You mean like porn, right?” The boy countered, and added, “You should spend less time schlicking and more time getting your shit together.”

“Heeeee?!” The blond girl cried out suddenly.

Shuichi cringed.

“Kokichi, Miu, please calm down!” A boy with stark white hair and black gloves said in a desperate attempt to settle down the argument. Both members looked at him blankly, and continued their bickering.

“Guys,” A small girl with red hair started to speak in a dull voice.

She was ignored.

“Guys…” She repeated.

She was still ignored.

 _“Guys!”_ She yelled, drawing everyone’s attention. The girl started to look somewhat tired after the fact, and pointed to Shuichi. “We have a visitor.”

The others in the room, including a few faces he recognized- a girl with a green flowered bandana on her head (who was now sneering at him), a boy with long black hair and some bizarre face mask, and a girl with gray hair and a dainty appearance- all stopped to look at him. He tried not to flounder at their attentive gazes.

“This… is the debate club, right?”

The boy with the checkered bandana frowned.

“No, this is the yearbook club.”

Shuichi frowned as well, and said, “I see… Um, I guess I’ll be on my way-”

“That was a lie, you know!” The boy in the checkered scarf said suddenly, making a grand gesture with a grin, “Where else would the debate club be?”

Shuichi blinked, taken aback. The boy in the checkered scarf motioned for Shuichi to come closer.

“Are you from the student council? We weren’t being too loud or vulgar, were we? Because you can totally blame that on Miu,” The boy said.

“H-hey!” The blonde girl squirmed.

“N-no, I was just wondering if you were still taking members,” Shuichi said, though he made a mental note to consider telling a teacher about the nature of the argument that had just taken place.

“Hmm, it is pretty late to be joining a club,” The boy in the scarf continued, tapping his chin thoughtfully, but was interrupted by the boy with the white hair.

“As club president, I should be able to make that decision, right?” And after a moment, he added, “Besides, this would even out the number of members we have, which would logically make debates easier to participate in.”

“Aw,” The boy in the checkered scarf said, though he didn’t look particularly disappointed. 

Weird.

“I suppose we should introduce ourselves. My name is Kiibo Idabashi,” The boy with the white hair said with a smile, and gestured to Shuichi.

“Shuichi Saihara,” He responded, and glanced at the other students.

“Kirumi Tojo,” The girl with the gray hair said, and made an attempt at bowing from her desk.

“Korekiyo Shinguji,” The man with the mask said, though it was slightly muffled.

“Himiko Yumeno,” The girl with the red hair said tiredly.

“...Tenko Chabashira,” The girl with the bandana said.

“M-Miu Iruma,” The girl with the blonde hair stammered.

“Kokichi Oma,” The boy with the checkered scarf said as he returned to his desk, and added, “Resident liar, leader of an evil organization, and most skilled member of the debate club.”

Shuichi furrowed his brows. “Is… is that a lie too?”

“You’re such a braggart,” Tenko said, “But that’s to be expected from a degenerate like yourself.”

“Um,” Shuichi said, oh-so-wisely.

“As counterintuitive as it may seem, Kokichi is a formidable opponent in a debate,” Kirumi said calmly.

“He certainly defies expectations,” Korekiyo agreed.

Shuichi looked around the classroom, and found that (aside from Tenko’s slight jab at Kokichi’s character), everyone seemed to reluctantly admit that Kokichi was successful. Shuichi was at a loss for words, unsure of how he could go about submitting an application, when Kiibo broke the silence.

“Although we’ve already started planning the school year’s schedule and have established the rules, I don’t think it would be too much trouble for you to join us. You seem like you’d be a quick learner.” Kiibo paused, and continued, “However… we would need to gauge your familiarity with debate, so that we know where a proper starting point for education would be.”

Kirumi raised her hand. “How about we hold a small debate?” She suggested. “Something low-pressure, but still informative.”

“We don’t have any topics to discuss at the moment,” Kiibo said, then perked up. “I could always look some up though! I have the perfect database bookmarked on my phone.”

As Kiibo pulled his phone out of his pocket, Shuichi glanced around.

“Who will I be debating against?” He asked.

“How about me?” Kokichi said. “Let’s see how good you can get! I’ll try to go easy on you too! ...but that’s a lie.”

“I… guess that’s okay?” Shuichi said, and tugged the brim of his hat down.

“You’d better show the gremlin up,” Miu said, recovering from her earlier shyness.

“So it’s decided, then?” Kiibo asked. “In that case, your prompt will be…” he proceeded to scroll through the options on his phone, humming every so often until he settled on one, “...Can money buy happiness?”

Before Shuichi even had time to respond, Kokichi spoke up, a wide grin on his face as he raised his hand without sparing a single glance at him.

“I volunteer for affirmative.”

Shuichi gaped at him. Kokichi met his eyes for a brief moment, mischief practically shining in them, and shrugged. “You snooze you lose,” he said, the grin still not leaving his face.

Kiibo glanced between the two of them, and sighed, as if fully expecting this.

“Shuichi, do you have any objections to being on the opposition?”

Shuichi pursed his lips- _Am I really ready for such an impromptu battle against the proclaimed best member of the club?_ He thought to himself. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he could see Kaede’s look of encouragement, pushing him to go forward and confront his anxieties.

“I have no objections.”

Kokichi’s grin slimmed down to something less sinister and more...smug? Could that be the word to describe it? For a moment, he brushed it off as a quirk of Kokichi’s; He had practically embraced the title of a liar, even though Shuichi believed that it was (ironically enough) not the truth, and such a liar would not be engaging in a debate club, of all things. A club based on truth and beliefs. But before he could let himself get too comfortable, Kokichi spoke up, and the next words he let out made Shuichi’s blood run cold.

“I’d like to request that the opposition also remove his hat.”

Shuichi looked at Kokichi, startled.

“What? Why?”

Kokichi glanced at his nails, a bored expression taking over his face. He must have expected Shuichi’s defensiveness.

“One of the most valuable skills to have in a debate team is to make eye contact. Not only is it a good social skill to have, it’s important to be able to stand with confidence, to look your opponent straight in the eye and back your claims... And I noticed you’ve been hiding away this entire time.” Kokichi put his finger to his lips then, and smiled. “Keep doing that and you won’t be taken seriously, y’know?”

Shuichi looked nervously between Kokichi and Kiibo, silently pleading for Kokichi’s request to be denied. Kiibo appeared torn, until eventually, he looked down grimly.

“Kokichi… has a valid point.”

Shuichi frowned, and after several moments of internal conflict, decided that this was more than a request- it was a challenge, and one that he couldn’t let himself back down from. Carefully, hesitantly, he held the brim of his hat and removed it.

The air was thick with tension, which only fizzled out when Kiibo cleared his throat.

“Um, if both participants could come to the front of the classroom and to the podium, we can get started.”

Shuichi set his hat down on one of the empty desks, feeling the gazes of the other seven in the room all fall toward him as he stood up from his seat and walked towards the front. Kokichi had followed along him, looking completely unruffled, and not for the first time that day, Shuichi wondered what he had gotten himself into. There was hardly any time to gather his thoughts by the time he was in front of the podium, facing Kokichi on the opposite side.

“The rules of this debate, ah, since it wasn’t thoroughly planned…” Kiibo started, tapping the podium idly, “...are as follows: Each side will have up to two minutes to make their claim, starting with the affirmative, then moving on to the opposition. After the claim, the affirmative is to question the opposition, who will counter the argument. This will continue until time runs out, in this case, the six minutes following the claims, or until one side concedes.” Kiibo looked between the two, and something told Shuichi that this wasn’t going to end well. “Since I am the club president and, at least this time, the judge panelist, I’ll be deciding the winner after time ends.”

“Aw, come on Kiibo,” Kokichi said, pouting in a false-saccharine tone, “That’s not fair. Do you really think so little of me that the new guy might actually make it to full time?” He added in a few fake sniffles for good measure. “How mean can you get?!”

Kiibo looked thoroughly unamused. Shuichi couldn’t blame him.

“I’m trying to be an impartial party. Don’t think that I won’t call this debate off,” Kiibo said sternly.

“You’re no fun,” Kokichi pouted again, but bounced back quickly.

Shuichi took a steady breath, and steeled his resolve as Kiibo removed his phone from his pocket and set the timer.

“You may begin your argument… now.”

“Some people claim money can’t buy happiness,” Kokichi started, “But not only is it a bold claim, it is one that has no ground in truth. Money is what allows people to experience life to its fullest. Without money, how could a family go on a vacation and make happy memories together? How could a friend witness the joy lighting up on their companion’s face after treating them to dinner? How could a lover find a way to express their promise of eternity to their partner without a diamond ring? These are all experiences which rely on the flow of money to accompany them.”

Shuichi furrowed his brows at Kokichi’s unwavering confidence.

“Happiness, in and of itself, is a concept.” Shuichi began slowly, “A concept that money can’t pay for, no matter how abundant it may be. The excitement of a family having a child, the surprise after carefully planning a birthday party for a friend, the contentment of being in a warm sweater during winter, experiences like that can’t be bought with something tangible. It’s not the money that makes it possible. Money can’t buy kindness. Money can’t buy a relationship. The emotion of happiness isn’t so easily swayed by cash, but what comes from other people- what comes from the heart. Uh, metaphorically speaking.”

Shuichi’s eyes darted away as he finished speaking, but not quickly enough to completely miss the contemplative look on Kokichi’s face.

“The opposition has named a few examples of ways that the experience of happiness can be achieved. However, this brings up the question of the means to how this happiness was achieved. A family having a child is no problem… if the family is financially sound enough to support it. A birthday party for a friend is no problem… if there’s enough money for the cake and presents. A warm sweater in winter is no problem. But how did you acquire the sweater? Money.”

Shuichi frowned at Kokichi’s reversal. Kokichi, for his part, looked at ease.

“But, one could just as easily say that money can buy unhappiness. Too much luxury and wealth can cause a division in the way that the wealthy see the world. Money is a motive behind political corruption. Overspending, gambling, even losing money in general can cause emotional strife. The benefits of money don’t necessarily outweigh the drawbacks.”

Kokichi grinned.

“That’s an excellent point, but it’s completely unrelated to the argument at hand. The question is whether or not money can buy happiness, not whether it causes more unhappiness than happiness. Even if money is a source of problems in society, it also, as I said before, can be a source of relief, enjoyment, and quality of life in general. And the ability to cause that happiness is, in a roundabout way, the same as buying that happiness.”

“You said ‘in a roundabout way’, but that’s correlation, not causation.”

“A roundabout way is still a way. It might not be direct, but it’s still a method.”

Shuichi rubbed his temples, trying not to get a headache.

“Are we really going to spend the last few minutes arguing over semantics?”

“Actually,” Kiibo butted in, “I’d prefer it if we didn’t.”

“But things were just getting good!” Kokichi mock-complained.

“I think at this point in time, we’ve strayed far away enough from the topic at hand to close the debate,” Korekiyo calmly spoke from his seat, making all three at the front of the classroom turn to him.

Kiibo frowned, and said, “I agree.”

Shuichi bit his lower lip, and turned to look at Kiibo, who appeared to be struggling at weighing his options.

“I think, in this particular debate case…” Kibo began carefully, making Shuichi’s heartbeat pick up in a way that was usually only reserved for thriller movies and gym class.

“...”

“...”

“...”

Kiibo sighed.

“Kokichi had the upper hand.”

Kokichi let out a small laugh, almost a giggle if it could be called that- something that sounded like “nishishi”... or was it “neeheehee”?- and clasped his hands behind his head.

“I gotta admit Shuichi, that was a pretty close battle! You almost had me!”

Shuichi raised his eyebrows- “Really?”

“No, that was a lie.”

Shuichi deflated (in a similar fashion to his already-in-poor-shape ego) and was prepared to go back to his seat, grab his hat, and get the hell out of dodge, when he heard Kokichi speak again.

“Buuuuut, that was an interesting argument. You might have even surprised me once or twice! Congratulations, you’ve become an official member of the club!”

“Hey!” Kiibo called out in dismay, “That’s my call to make!”

“So then tell him he’s in, Kiiboy,” Kokichi said.

Kiibo grimaced, muttering something like “I wish you wouldn’t call me that”, but it quickly faded as he turned to Shuichi and smiled.

“You’ve definitely demonstrated skill, despite the sudden circumstances and being put on the spot. The debate club would be more than happy to have you.”

“Ah, thanks…” Shuichi said, and trailed off as he looked around to the others in his newfound club.

They certainly looked like an interesting bunch (he might have used the word quirky, but that usually implied something more subtle), and he still wasn’t sure that he really had it in him to be on the side of argument rather than investigation, but… there was something in him that had, for just a fleeting moment, enjoyed the rush of being able to assert himself.

_“Stand up for yourself more often,” Kaede had said to him once._

With the smallest of smiles on his face, Shuichi nodded his head.

“I’ll do my best to help this club in whatever way I can.”

Kiibo extended his hand, and Shuichi shook it before heading back to his desk, When he arrived, he took his hat back, and stared at it contemplatively. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kokichi return to his desk and lean back in his chair casually. Without much fanfare, Shuichi put his hat back on his head. It was still comfortable, being able to hide his gaze.

_And yet..._

“Well, now that that’s over,” Kiibo said, bringing Shuichi out of his thoughts, “I think we can resume club activities… though we’ll have to fill Shuichi in on what he’s missed so far.”

“Ugh, do we really have to go over it again?” Miu complained.

The school year was about to get interesting.

* * *

“You want me to eat with you in the courtyard?” Shuichi asked, lifting his hat a bit so he could get a closer look at Kaede.

“Yeah! I figured since you always eat alone in here, it might be nice to eat outside for once while the weather’s not too hot.”

Truthfully, Shuichi probably hadn’t been going outside enough, especially now that he was an official member of the debate club, and was spending a good chunk of his afterschool time in the classroom or catching up on homework. And the early June weather was rather nice…

“Sure,” Shuichi said with a small smile, and, as he stood up and looked out the classroom window, decided to remove his hat- a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed.

“You’re not going to wear your hat?” Kaede asked after they gathered their belongings and retrieved their lunches.

“Ah, no, I think it might be a little too hot to wear it outside today,” He answered. “And… I’m trying to get used to looking people in the eye.”

Kaede smiled warmly at him, and said, “I’m glad to hear that! It’s nice to see you getting some confidence. I think being a part of the debate club has done you some good.”

“Yeah,” Shuichi agreed, and quietly added, “Thank you for helping me out.”

“No problem.”

As they stepped outside, looking for a bench to rest on, Shuichi suddenly hear a voice calling out to them.

“Hey, Kaede! Can you get over here for a second?”

Shuichi recognized the voice as Kaito Momota, a purple-haired boy waving towards them who was somehow enthusiastic about his classes yet frequently asked for help with copying notes. Shuichi didn’t understand it, but he seemed nice enough. Seated beside Kaito was a girl, also from his class, though she seemed to be the exact opposite of Kaito- stern, studious, strong, silent. If he wasn’t mistaken, her name was Maki Harukawa, and she had a reputation as the most disciplined student in the whole school- which was a strange reputation to have, but it seemed positive enough.

Kaede waved back at Kaito, and glanced at Shuichi. “Do you mind following me?”

Shuichi shook his head, and the two left to join the other duo.

Once they approached the pair, who were eating beneath the shade of a tree, Kaito gestured towards Maki.

“Maki thinks the big dipper is a constellation, but it’s not, it’s an asterism. Can you convince her?”

Maki gave a long-suffering sigh, and said, “I never said it was a constellation, Kaito, I said it might as well be.”

“Same thing!” Kaito said, and Kaede laughed.

“You know,” Kaede started, still smiling, “For all that you two seem to argue, I’ve never seen you far apart from each other.”

“That’s because Maki loves me, right?” Kaito said, looking at Maki with a grin.

Maki glowered.

“Anyway,” Kaito said, shrugging it off like it was nothing, and gestured to Shuichi, “Who’s your friend?”

Shuichi waved slightly. “Shuichi Saihara. Nice to meet you.”

“So you’re the guy Kaede talks about,” Maki said, giving Shuichi a glance that Shuichi couldn’t decipher.

“Come on guys, it’s not like that,” Kaede said. “And besides, I invited him out here because he always eats alone in the classroom. It’d be good for him to get some sunlight.”

“Hey!” Shuichi squeaked, and Kaede laughed lightly.

“Come on, sit under the tree with us!”

Shuichi smiled softly, and sat down alongside the other three.

“So, you don’t really seem like the talkative type,” Kaito said in-between mouthfuls of bread, “But it’s cool that Kaede brought you out here.”

“Well, she’s always been helping me along lately,” Shuichi admitted. “She was the one who convinced me to join a club this year. I kind of owe her now.”

“What club?” Maki asked, and if Shuichi listened hard enough, he could hear curiosity in her voice.

“Debate club,” He answered, somewhat embarrassed- it wasn’t necessarily the coolest club, but it was a club that was helping him be more sociable, bit by bit.

Kaito raised an eyebrow. “Sounds kinda cool. Isn’t that the club that the guy who always lies is in?”

Shuichi gave Kaito a wry smile. “Yeah, it is.”

Shuichi had learned over the last three weeks that the debate club was even more of a handful than he had initially expected. Not to say that he didn’t enjoy his time there, because there was always something interesting going on, but usually it was instigated by Kokichi (more often than Miu or Tenko, at least.) Shuichi did discover after several meetings that Kokichi really was a habitual liar, masterfully twisting his words and turning half-truths into plausibility, constantly surrounded by an almost playful deceit. It had taken a while, but he was gradually learning to differentiate which of Kokichi’s statements were true or false… but he still had a ways to go. Kokichi was more than happy to remind him of that fact.

“I’m pretty sure he’s nothing but trouble,” Kaito said with a put-off expression.

“You’re just mad that he managed to beat you in multiple rounds of blackjack during the lunch break last week… not that I can blame you,” Maki stated, and Kaito raised a fist as if trying to curse at Kokichi in response.

“That jerk was counting cards, I know it!”

“It does seem like something he’d do,” Shuichi agreed with an amused smile; He decided not to mention that Kokichi had tied with him nearly twenty times in a row as they were playing rock paper scissors for blackboard-writing duty the previous day, until Kirumi had grown tired of the argument and offered to do it in addition to the rest of her work.

The group of four continued to eat and talk, laughter sprinkled throughout their conversations, talking about everything and anything. And for the first time in a while, Shuichi felt at ease as he ate. Maybe the debate club had given him a chance at a better beginning.

* * *

“As you’re all aware, there’s going to be a prefecture-wide debate competition in mid-September Kiibo said, writing down information from the various sheets of paper he was holding. “In order to prepare ourselves, for the next four meetings, we’ll cycle through positions of jury and teams. I’ve prepared a list of ten subjects, each with five prompts, and will be randomly selecting four of them to use for trial debates within the club. For each meeting, we’ll have two students be jury, and the other six will draw straws for affirmative or opposition. That way, everyone gets a turn being jury.”

Shuichi watched Kokichi, who was wearing an unreadable expression. It was hard to tell if he was taking Kiibo’s words seriously or not, which might have been alarming if Shuichi hadn’t experienced how good Kokichi was at bluffing before. He was about eighty percent certain that Kokichi was paying rapt attention.

“Next Tuesday, we’ll decide who gets to be judges, and I’ll choose the first subject. Then, on Friday, each side will present their research and make their claim in response to the prompt. At the end of the session on Friday, we’ll repeat the process, and the sides will present on Tuesday, and so forth until we’ve covered everyone. Any questions?” Kiibo finished.

“Yeah. Why are we having to do all shit this now if the competition isn’t for another two and a half months?” Miu asked.

“Because, I’ve been working with an advisor to get us a practice debate with one of the other schools in the prefecture before summer break. This will give us a chance to test ourselves in a semi-formal environment.” Kiibo looked proud of himself as he said it, but in the back of Shuichi’s mind, there was a small feeling that he knew would fester inside of him if he let it: Self-doubt.

Shuichi had felt himself becoming a more confident person over the time he was in the club, but performance anxiety was still very much a reality for him.

Nobody really seemed to notice his inner struggle, which he supposed he should be grateful for… at least until he saw Kokichi’s eyes on him.

“Shuichi, let’s play a game,” Kokichi said, completely ignoring Kiibo’s continued explanation of the following weeks.

Not that there was much left to discuss, though.

Shuichi hadn’t played any “games” with Kokichi aside from their previous tie at rock paper scissors, and he was unsure of what Kokichi had in mind. When he voiced as much, Kokichi merely grinned and pulled a deck of cards out from his schoolbag.

“Hey, who else wants to play Bullshit?” Kokichi called out, earning the attention of Tenko, Himiko, and Korekiyo.

“I think it’d be wise of anyone with a competitive spirit to avoid playing,” Korekiyo said simply, “Since we’d be playing against a perpetual liar.”

“Aw, but that’s what makes the game more fun!” Kokichi pouted. “Besides, it wouldn’t just be me playing. Shuichi’s gonna be playing too, and he’s almost too honest!”

“That’s not true!” Shuichi replied.

“Yeah, you got me. That was a lie,” Kokichi said with his usual grin, “Or was it? You might be an even better liar than I am. And I hate liars, you know?”

Shuichi looked at Kokichi with suspicion.

“What’s the catch if we play?” He asked.

“Damn, you saw right through me,” Kokichi said. “I was thinking, if I win, you all have to submit yourselves to my secret organization!”

“Your lame-ass organization isn’t even real,” Miu complained as she watched from the sidelines.

“It totally is. And you’ll all find that out soon enough!”

“Himiko and I will play. There’s no challenge we can’t beat together!” Tenko exclaimed, and moved to the desks closest to Kokichi and Shuichi.

“Hold on. If you’re going to make a demand if you win, don’t you think it’s only fair that we get to make one too?” Shuichi asked.

“Man Shuichi, you’re on a roll today,” Kokichi said cheerfully, “You’re seeing through all of my tricks. No wonder you want to be in criminology!”

“If I win, you all have to learn the discipline of Neo-Aikido!” Tenko said boldly.

Shuichi was tempted to ask what that was, but thought better of it.

“If I win, you all have to buy me snacks from the vending machine…” Himiko said, even quieter than usual. She then added, “And admit that magic is real.”

“What about you Shuichi?” Kokichi asked with stars in his eyes, “What are you gonna get if you win?”

“Ah, um…” Shuichi tried to come up with a good idea, and eventually gave up. “I’ll think of something later, I guess?”

Kokichi’s expression morphed into a bored one. “Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

If Kokichi was hard to compete against in a test of truth, he was impossible to predict in a game based on lies. Just when it seemed like everything was going in one person’s favor, someone would manage to turn it around- and more often than not, that person was Kokichi. And as much as Shuichi was dizzied by the fast pace of the game, he found it surprisingly enjoyable… even if Tenko would occasionally give him the cold shoulder whenever he made a good play (or reminded her that she was playing against Himiko, not with her).

Somehow, through a stroke of sheer dumb luck, Shuichi managed to win.

“Well,” Kiibo said, a bit downtrodden as the event ended, “That was entertaining to watch, but we’ve completely taken up the rest of the time we were supposed to have for club activities.”

“You could have stopped them at any time,” Kirumi countered, though clearly she had been caught up in the match as well.

“So, Shuichi,” Kokichi began, “You were the winner. Did you come up with a good idea?”

Shuichi tapped his chin in thought.

“How about…”

He glanced at Kokichi, then to the others.

“None of you can lie for the entire day on Monday.”

Several seconds passed, and finally Miu broke the silence with a cackle.

“Wow, what kind of challenge even is that? The only one who’d even have trouble with that is Cuckichi!” She laughed.

“Lying is for the weak,” Tenko said, somewhat unconvincingly.

“You’re just saying that because it’s easy to tell when you’re lying,” Himiko told Tenko, earning a nervous frown in response.

“Hmm, but how will you know if we’re telling the truth or if we’re lying, huh?” Kokichi said in a tone of voice that was just barely pushing innocent. “You’re not even in the same homeroom as any of us.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to trust you guys,” Shuichi said with a quiet sigh. “Though if you need me to monitor you, then we’ll have to eat lunch together, won’t we?”

“If you request it, then I will make sure they abide by their promise,” Kirumi said calmly. “There is no need to inconvenience yourself.”

“Kirumi, your sense of duty is admirable,” Korekiyo agreed.

“Somehow I feel like that was a jab at us,” Kokichi said, and let crocodile tears well up before reverting back to his usual self. “But I’ll eat lunch with you anyway just to prove I’m being suuuuuper honest, okay?”

“Um, can we consider this meeting adjourned then? We’ve probably stayed here too long,” Kiibo requested.

After his reminder, everyone packed up their belongings and began to leave. Shuichi took one last look out the window of the classroom, and found that he no longer felt as antsy about the upcoming practice debate that Kiibo was planning. He relaxed, and smiled as he passed through the door and walked down the hallways.

At least until he realized that Kokichi had been serious about eating lunch with him.

* * *

“I’m telling you, the main character is the book is the guy the book is named after! He’s the one the narrator focuses on the most,” Kaito said with a determined expression on his face.

“I’m pretty sure the main character is the narrator himself,” Kaede said, “Since the entire book is from his perspective.”

Shuichi smiled at his friends’ antics as they sat under the tree in the courtyard and ate. Over the two weeks or so, he had gotten into the habit of joining Kaede for lunch, which meant that Kaito and Maki tended to follow along. He had found a sort of comfort in their conversations, no matter how serious or playful they may be (though it was typically the latter).

“I think Kaede’s right,” Shuichi cut in with a small smile.

Kaito tisked, and said, “Whatever. What matters is that I’m trying to understand the material, right?”

“For once,” Maki said in a tone that could possibly be considered teasing.

“At least it’s good that-” Shuichi started to speak, but trailed off when he saw a familiar face heading towards them.

“Hey, Shuichi! Sorry I’m late, I had some business to take care of,” Kokichi called out, approaching the group.

Kaito’s eyes widened slightly, and he turned to Shuichi- the silent question of _“You invited him?”_ evident on his face.

Shuichi glanced away.

“I can’t believe you forgot your words from last week, too. I’m almost upset, you know!” Kokichi said, holding a small paper bag of food, presumably from one of the nearby food stops- how had he even managed to sneak off campus?

“Ah, sorry about that…” Shuichi trailed off.

“Is this your, uh, friend from debate club?” Kaede asked awkwardly.

“Something like that, yeah,” Shuichi said. “We have a sort of agreement going on right now, and I might have told him I’d need to be sure he was upholding it.”

“Such noncommittal answers. You hurt me, Shuichi,” Kokichi said.

“Is that a lie?” Shuichi asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Exaggerations aren’t always lies, you know,” Kokichi shrugged in response, “And I’m trying to keep up with your challenge.”

“You can’t lie?” Maki spoke up, and looked at Kokichi skeptically, “How did you ever agree to that?”

“Shuichi won a game.”

“Really?” Kaede asked enthusiastically, making Shuichi feel just the tiniest bit offended.

“Hey, does that mean you’ll answer anything?” Kaito said, and grinned determinedly. “Do you really have a secret organization?”

Kokichi looked at Kaito blankly, and proceeded to remove his lunch from the bag.

“You know, I’m really not surprised you’d ask such a predictable question. There’s no excitement in it.”

“Are you deflecting?” Shuichi asked before Kaito could continue.

“Yup! But that’s not lying either, is it?” Kokichi asked with a childlike smile.

“...I guess not.”

Kaede looked between Shuichi and Kokichi with mild interest, but said nothing.

“So then, let me ask you this,” Shuichi began, watching Kokichi carefully as he took a sip from his water bottle, “Why did you join the debate club?”

Kokichi looked at Shuichi for an extended pause, and sighed.

“I joined it because I figured I could put my bluffing skills to the test. It’s one of my best features, after all. Plus, it’d let me expand my social circle. For reasons.”

Shuichi hummed in thought. Although it seemed like an avoidant answer, he couldn’t help but feel like there was a kernel of truth in his words, though what it might represent, he had no clue. His intuition could only get him so far without concrete facts.

“Somehow,” Shuichi said, “I think you’re really not lying this time.”

Kokichi’s smile returned, even wider than before. “See? I know how to be honest. Some of my lies are for everyone else’s benefit, though, so it’s not such a good thing for me to be this open,” He smirked.

“Now that one’s definitely a lie,” Kaito frowned, but said nothing else.

“Waaaaaah, you all have such terrible opinions of me!” Kokichi pretended to wail, and Shuichi tried to hide a smile.

Lunch resumed as the four students continued to eat, and a semi-comfortable, almost-casual silence formed. Throughout their time, Shuichi let himself unwind, and just when he was about to break the silence and mention how he was actually enjoying himself, the bell rang, signifying the end of the lunch period.

“Crap, we better hurry if we don’t wanna be late for the next class,” Kaito said suddenly, and leaped up from his position (almost stumbling in the process).

Shuichi, Kaede, Maki, and Kokichi all hastily packed their belongings, watching as Kaito speed-walked across the courtyard and back into the school building. As they all rushed through the motions, Shuichi took one last look at Kokichi.

“Hey, Kokichi…” He called out.

Kokichi stopped to look back at him one last time.

“Hm?”

Shuichi found himself at a loss for words; What did he want to say again? _Thanks for not lying?_ That sounded lame, even in his own mind. And it wasn’t guaranteed that Kokichi hadn’t been lying to begin with- he did have an impressive poker face, after all. _Thanks for eating lunch with me?_ That just sounded weird, especially since he knew Kaito and Maki weren’t exactly fond of him.

“See you after school tomorrow,” He said mildly, instead.

Kokichi turned away, and headed back to the school, but not before saying:

“You know you’re totally transparent, right Shuichi?”

And Shuichi wasn’t sure how to interpret it.

* * *

“...And despite the physical distances, modern technology allows us to connect to other humans in a way that was previously difficult and, in some cases, impossible to attain before,” Kiibo said confidently. “Social media has the power to re-introduce friends, give a sense of community to users, and establish communication easily between people both like-minded and different.”

“And that’s the closing argument for opposition, right?” Kokichi asked, stretching his arms in front of him in what Shuichi hoped was fake disinterest.

“I wish you’d take this more seriously,” Kiibo muttered before nodding. “Yes, that is the opposition’s closing argument.”

Shuichi glanced at Kokichi, both of them sitting beside each other on chairs in the front of the classroom. Written on the blackboard behind them was the prompt: _“Does social media make users more lonely?”_

To Shuichi’s left was the opposition team, which consisted of Kiibo, Himiko, and Kirumi. To his right, the affirmative team, consisting of Miu, Korekiyo, and Tenko.

“Affirmative team, your rebuttal and closing argument?”

Korekiyo cleared his throat, and began to speak.

“While we agree that the opposition brings several important points to light, it is also necessary to examine the other side of the coin, so to speak. There are as many communities dedicated to what our society deems socially unacceptable or deplorable causes as there are to communities dedicated to positive social change, each with their own independent voices that have the opportunity to create conflict between opposing ideals. These communities create performative pressure, which eventually leads to isolation…”

Shuichi listened to Korekiyo’s rebuttal, occasionally checking the time. His gaze would occasionally flicker towards his clubmates; To Miu, who was looking shockingly serious throughout the entire debate, to Kirumi, who was completely composed, to Himiko, who looked both determined and sweaty; Even to Kokichi, who still looked disinterested, but wasn’t making any comments stating so.

Eventually, Korekiyo closed his argument, and Shuichi’s phone timer went off shortly afterward. Shuichi turned it off, and glanced between the two teams.

“Well, that’s the end of the debate. I think you all did a pretty good job.” Shuichi turned to Kokichi, and asked, “What are your thoughts?”

“Hmmmmm,” Kokichi pressed his lips together and hummed, prolonging the wait, “While I think the affirmative did a good job of providing arguments, they relied more on hypotheticals than actual studied facts, and Tenko in particular seemed to be making the same claim without refuting the evidence provided by the opposition. Confidence is important, but so is the ability to support it.”

Shuichi blinked.

_Well, I didn’t expect that for an answer._

“What about you, Shuichi?” Kokichi turned to him, looking excited, “What do you think? Are you gonna agree with me?”

Shuichi hesitated, and spoke.

“I am. I think, in terms of emotional impact, Korekiyo, Tenko, and Miu made a better case. But emotional impact is only half of the solution, and we need to consider logic and rationale in the argument as much as we need to consider personal feelings. Kiibo, Himiko, and Kirumi provided more technical knowledge, which was more convincing. So… the opposition wins, this time.”

“What a load of ass sweat!” Miu huffed loudly, adding yet another phrase to her already-colorful vocabulary.

“That’s a new one,” Himiko murmured, and avoided their gaze- Shuichi almost wished he was still wearing his hat so he could do the same.

Kokichi let out his typical laugh, dodging happily as Miu tried to grab his collar- and laughed even harder when Miu practically crashed into Shuichi. Fortunately for Shuichi, the collision didn’t quite knock him out of his chair, but he did stumble onto his hands and knees. He stood up a bit, and briefly thought back to Miu’s serious expression before, one that he hadn’t seen previously. He briefly wondered why she was in the debate club to begin with, considering her area of expertise was engineering, and she often complained about the workload of the club. He didn’t let those thoughts overwhelm him though, and instead, looked to the wall of the classroom, where a calendar was hanging.

_Ten days until the practice match._

_I can do this… right?_

Just as Shuichi was toying with the thought, someone poked his side rather harshly- not enough to leave a mark, but enough to snap him out of his thoughts. He flinched and looked to where Kokichi was standing.

“Earth to Shuichi, did you hear a word that I was saying?”

“Um… no,” Shuichi said, “Can you repeat that?”

“I said, once Kiiboy gives us the prompts for the practice match, you should invite me over to your place to study for the debate,” Kokichi said with an easy grin.

“That’s…” Shuichi began, and thought back to the state of his house; He was essentially living with his uncle, since his parents frequently went overseas for work, and leaving a high school boy on his own with no support was a terrible idea. His room was messy, not to mention the embarrassing band posters on his wall that he hadn’t had the heart to take down… But then again, when had he last had a friend over?

Could Kokichi be counted as a friend?

“...Sure,” Shuichi eventually settled. “Let me just call my uncle to let him know I’ll be having you over.”

“Great! I can’t wait to see what kind of porn mags you have at your place!” Kokichi giggled, making Shuichi blush.

“I don’t have any-!”

“Hah! Fuckin’ virgin’s probably too shy for it!” Miu interrupted.

 _Once again,_ Shuichi thought, _what the hell am I getting myself into?_

* * *

“Oh my god, you have so many visual kei posters on your wall!”

Shuichi frowned and tried to pretend his face wasn’t as red as a tomato as Kokichi snickered. Of course that had to be the first thing he commented on as they entered Shuichi’s room. The walk to his home had been somewhat quiet, with Kokichi occasionally humming some unknown tune, and Shuichi considered it a brief period of peace. Emphasis on ‘brief’, because after a quick hello to Shuichi’s uncle as they came home and a trip up to his room, Kokichi had started laughing.

“So? ...I like their styles,” Shuichi tried to defend himself.

Kokichi’s laughter died down and he whistled, counting the number of posters on his wall (there were only six, but they were still something Shuichi would prefer to avoid sharing with the others if possible.)

“I mean, it’s kind of impressive. I was almost worried that I’d be right and that you’d have porn magazines strewn across the floor or something. I bet you’re into the kinky stuff too,” Kokichi said. Shuichi wasn’t sure if it was a lie or not.

“Whatever, let’s just get to work,” Shuichi suggested in an attempt to steer the conversation towards something less embarrassing.

“Hmm, if you say so.”

Shuichi pulled out the notebook that he had written in over the last two weeks from his bookbag, along with Kiibo’s handout of the information for the practice debate, and sat on the floor. Kokichi joined him shortly after.

“Where should we begin?” Shuichi asked.

“Let’s see,” Kokichi said, analyzing his own copy of the handout, “One of the things it lists as a potential subject is the benefits of after-school activities. Let’s start with that, since we already know plenty about it.” Kokichi paused, and grinned. “Or at least, I do, since I’ve been in the debate club since the beginning. You know, I was supposed to be the club president until Kiibo usurped me, which sucks. I guess he really hated the thought of me having any power, that jerk.”

“Wait, really?”

“Nope! That was a lie.”

“That reminds me,” Shuichi spoke suddenly, trying to set aside most of what Kokichi had added, “Were you really telling the truth when I asked you about why you joined the debate club back then?”

Kokichi stared at him blankly.

“You know, I lie a lot, so it’s kind of hard for me to remember how much of what I say is a half-truth or a complete lie,” He said, looking unimpressed. Shuichi couldn’t help but feel like it was meant to mask something.

“Back to the topic at hand, I guess,” Shuichi sighed.

As they discussed the prompts, each with determined expressions on their faces (well, mostly Shuichi’s, but there was some determination in Kokichi’s too), Shuichi didn’t even notice how quickly time was passing. There was a natural sort of flow that had formed between them as they went down the list and brainstormed ideas, and though Shuichi knew he was probably getting more invested into his club activities than his actual homework, he couldn’t say he wasn’t enjoying himself at least a little bit. The sky began to grow dark, and soon enough, his stomach began to rumble. When he checked the wall clock and realized it was later than he had anticipated, even getting into the evening, he let out a surprised gasp, punctuated by another growl from his stomach. Kokichi let out an amused snort at the sound.

“Your uncle isn’t making us dinner, is he?” Kokichi asked, eyes sparkling. “You know, I’m lactose intolerant, allergic to gluten, and a vegetarian. I’m a reeeeeeal picky eater.”

Shuichi shook his head.

“No, I don’t think he did. I’m not sure if he’s even here, he’s probably finishing paperwork at his agency. He works overnight there a lot…” He trailed off, and shrugged.

“Ah, bummer,” Kokichi said.

“If you want, we can look for a place that caters to your needs though,” Shuichi said, allowing a small smile onto his face. “Unless you were lying.”

“Yeah, you got me!” Kokichi smiled, “You’re getting better at detecting my lies every day.” Then, Kokichi’s smile turned somewhat sinister. “I’ll get you to love lying one of these days.”

“Um.”

“Anyway, where should we get food from?” Kokichi asked with a much more neutral expression.

“How about Maji Burger?” Shuichi suggested. “They’ve got decent vanilla shakes too, since I know you like tend to like sweet things.”

“You remembered that? How cute,” Kokichi said.

_Cute?!_

Shuichi closed his notebook just a bit too quickly, and the cover made a quiet “thwap” sound as it hit the pages.

(Shuichi didn’t have much time to dwell on his own unexpected reaction when the two had arrived at the chain restaurant; They ordered their food, Kokichi blew the wrapper of his straw onto Shuichi’s face, Shuichi accidentally dripped ketchup onto his lap, and they went their separate ways after eating, with a half-baked promise to try to study together more often. But when night time rolled around, he couldn’t help but wonder what it meant. Surely, nothing good.)

* * *

_I can’t do this._

Shuichi had begun panicking. Badly.

There was something immensely intimidating about the practice match that he couldn’t shake off. In his rational mind, he knew that it wasn’t a high-pressure competition. The auditorium they were in was empty aside from the adult supervision and the neighboring school’s small debate club. It was a humble arrangement. Shuichi and the others had prepared extensively. There were no judgmental eyes on him, nobody who knew who he was (outside of his clubmates), nobody to look down on him with scrutiny. It was a normal, high school teenager’s setup.

And yet, there was an unseen pressure pushing at him. The what-ifs were overwhelming him; _What if I choke up during one of the rounds? What if the other team laughs at me for making a dumb argument? What if we lose? Will that be an indicator of the future? What if what if what if-_

“Shuichi.”

Shuichi snapped his gaze up from where he was sitting on the edge of the auditorium stage. Nobody had been privy to his inner turmoil, or at least, nobody was saying anything- which was almost as bad, as it left him to stew in his emotions. That is, until Kokichi approached him.

“I don’t know what’s going on in that big ol’ brain of yours, but you gotta stop getting lost in it. We start in five minutes.”

“I…” Shuichi started, trying to keep the anxiety out of his voice, “Yeah, I’ll be… just, give me a minute, okay?”

Kokichi looked at him for several long seconds, and kneeled down on the floor of the auditorium stage. Carefully, gently, Kokichi brought his hands forward to Shuichi’s face, and framed his cheeks with them. Something in Shuichi’s stomach fluttered nervously at the gesture.

“Kokichi…”

_Smack!_

Shuichi flinched at the sudden sting of Kokichi slapping his cheeks.

“What was that for?!” He cried out, bringing the attention of a few of his clubmates (and earning a few chuckles in response.)

“You know what they say- tough love is the best medicine. Or something like that.”

“That’s not how the phrase goes,” Shuichi said, rubbing his cheeks once Kokichi had removed his hands. “Was that really necessary?”

“Of course it was,” Kokichi examined his nails, not even bothering to look at Shuichi like the answer was obvious. “You were getting stuck in your headspace, even though everyone here knows you’re the most prepared one out of all of us. Even more than me, if our study session a little while ago was any indicator. We’ve all seen your skill, and we’d have to be totally dense not to trust you as a member of the club. So trust yourself too.”

“What did slapping me do to help get that point across?” Shuichi furrowed his brows.

“Oh, that was just a distraction,” Kokichi said easily. “You were so focused on the pain and confusion that you let go of your worries, right?”

Shuichi blinked.

It was true.

“Neeheehee! I’m right, aren’t I?” Kokichi grinned, and stood up. “Anyway, we’re almost ready to start, so let’s go.”

Shuichi watched Kokichi walk to the auditorium stage’s center, looking completely carefree. It took him several moments to register the strangeness of the situation, but when he did, the fluttering feeling in his stomach returned, this time much stronger, yet somehow less unpleasant.

 _Did he just try to cheer me up?_ Shuichi wondered, but dismissed the thought shortly after. He had a practice debate to take part in, after all.

Shuichi stood up and followed Kokichi, and as they were divided into two groups of four and assigned their prompt positions, he took a moment to take a deep breath and steady himself. In the end, he and Kokichi didn’t end up on the same group for the first prompt, but while Kokichi and the others not in his group made their way to the auditorium seats, his words still rang in his head. Shuichi needed to trust not only in his team, but in himself.

“On the affirmative team for topic one,” The supervisor for the opponent school read off, “Shuichi, Miu, Himiko, and Kiibo.” After reading off the names of the opposition from their own school, the prompt was presented:

“Should the private lives of famous people be off-limits to the public eye?”

A pause, and then,

“Affirmation, when you’re ready.”

Shuichi took one last calming breath.

“First and foremost, celebrities and other famous people are human beings just like us. They have friends, families, hobbies they enjoy, things they like, things they dislike. And the fact that they’ve received notoriety in one form or another does not take away their humanity. The situation itself is the same as it would be to anyone here. We don’t want to be monitored every waking moment of our lives. We don’t want to have the details of our private lives exposed. That’s why they’re called private lives. And the fact that we think it’s okay to hold these people to a completely different set of unspoken rules than we’d hold to each other is a massive double-standard. Just as people like us deserve privacy, so do those who are famous.”

There was a brief moment of silence, lasting only one or two seconds at most, but Shuichi could practically hear the echo of his heartbeat in the expanse of the room.

“Opposition, your opening statement.”

Relief washed over Shuichi almost immediately. So far so good, as it appeared. He took a glance at Miu, who appeared to be psyching herself up for the second argument, then to the student speaking, and finally to Kokichi, who was watching from the sidelines, relaxed.

_Maybe I can do this._

* * *

“Invite your friends to the beach, she said,” Kaito grumbled to Shuichi as he carried an exorbitant amount of supplies, “It’ll be fun, she said.”

“I didn’t expect everyone to bring so many supplies either,” Shuichi admitted.

Three days after summer break began, Kaede, Kaito, and Maki had approached Shuichi to ask if he wanted to go to the beach with them. Shuichi had hesitated at the offer- it had been a long while since he’d been to a beach, even longer since he went with friends. To sweeten the deal, Kaede had told Shuichi that he was welcome to invite the members of the debate club (“Yes, even Kokichi,” she had told Kaito and Maki) and make a grand outing out of it. Unbeknownst to them at the time, some of the debate club members had taken the initiative to invite some of their friends and classmates as well. So now there was a group of sixteen or so students from the same school, some of whom Shuichi had never met, all gathered together on the beach for a day of fun in the sun.

And every one of them had brought something with them.

Kaito had bravely volunteered to help lug around some of the heavier beach supplies to the expanse of open space, the early afternoon sun shining upon him as he trudged across the warm sand. Shuichi almost admired him for his resilience. Finally, after several trips across the beach, everyone had managed to start unpacking, and within the span of twenty minutes, everyone was ready to frolick. Almost instantly, Kaito rifled through his bag and pulled out a bottle of sunscreen, and tossed it to Shuichi.

“I already put sunscreen on,” Shuichi said.

“Actually, I was hoping you could-”

“Don’t let him rope you into covering him,” Maki said, appearing from seemingly out of nowhere. Shuichi briefly thought she’d make a good assassin.

After thanking Maki, Shuichi decided to leave the two to talk. Unfortunately, that meant he had no idea where else to go. Kaede was happily chatting with two other girls, one with blue hair, the other with white, and Shuichi had no idea who either of them were. Meanwhile, Kirumi was helping a rather short student carry a small but heavy-looking box, Korekiyo and another boy with green hair and an alarming amount of piercings were discussing something with an incredibly tall and built student holding a bug net, Kiibo and Miu were competing against Himiko and Tenko in a game of beach volleyball, and Kokichi…

_Wait, where is Kokichi?_

As soon as Shuichi had the thought, he heard his name being called out.

“Shuichi, check it out!”

He turned around, only to see Kokichi run up to him and present a small, off-white shell.

“A shell?” Shuichi asked, tilting his head, “Is there something special about it?”

“Why don’t you look closer and find out?”

Shuichi stared at the shell and waited. Soon enough, a small reddish-orange head and a few spindly legs crept out.

“Surprise!” Kokichi grinned, “It’s a hermit crab!”

“That’s. Um. Great?” Shuichi said carefully.

“I know, right? There were a lot of them over by that side of the shore,” Kokichi said, and pointed towards the apparent area, “And I want you to help me start hunting them to make a little hermit crab colony.”

“Why?” Shuichi asked.

“Because I’m recruiting them as new members for my evil organization, duh.”

Shuichi stared at Kokichi.

“Are you telling the truth?”

Kokichi’s smile didn’t leave.

“Who knows? Maybe I just want to spend time with you. Or maybe I just want help finding more hermit crabs so I can hide them all over everyone’s stuff. Either way, I’m sure it’ll be entertaining.”

Shuichi mulled it over in his head.

“Promise not to hide any near my beach bag?” He asked, and got a hum in response.

It wasn’t a yes, but Shuichi was about eighty percent sure that Kokichi wouldn’t do it anyway.

And so, somehow, Shuichi spent most of the afternoon with Kokichi, finding and hiding hermit crabs in various places, occasionally letting the salty water lap at their legs when they got tired. It was more fun than he thought it would be, despite knowing that he could potentially find himself in hot water if they got found out (they almost did, too, when they tried sneaking one into Maki’s clothing bag.)

Somehow, there was a secret thrill to being caught up in Kokichi’s mischief that Shuichi only discovered while hanging out with him. But Kokichi was an enigma; Despite knowing him for three months, there were still plenty of times where Shuichi found it impossible to gauge what Kokichi was thinking, whether he was telling the truth or not. As far as Shuichi knew, Kokichi lived life by his own rules, and even then, he’d find a way to break them. His gestures were anything but innocent, and yet there was a sort of charm to him. It was frustrating, and at the same time, intriguing. The combination of the two frequently made his head spin as an emotion that he couldn’t quite pin down slowly seeped into him.

Or rather, an emotion that he was only able to identify later that evening.

When the sun had set, Kirumi revealed that the box she’d helped carry earlier was full of fireworks- bottle rockets, sparklers, firecrackers, fountains, even a few imported brands, some of which Shuichi wasn’t sure were even legal for a group of unsupervised teens to have. The one who had brought them (Shuichi would later learn his name was Ryoma) only said “You shouldn’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to” when Shuichi asked how he’d gotten them, and Shuichi was sure that was reason enough not to question any further.

The sun was setting, and Kirumi passed out the varying fireworks. Shuichi decided to be adventurous and try out the bottle rockets, and after borrowing a lighter that Ryoma had brought with him as well, set a few off. He watched as the small explosives shot into the sky and went out with several loud bangs, and smiled. He knew he’d have to go home sooner or later, just so he could eat dinner and avoid worrying his uncle, but for the time being, he just wanted to enjoy the summer air and the sight of his friends and clubmates running around excitedly, bathed in the glow of bright neon lights.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kokichi laughing as he carried a set of sparklers, bright pink and green. Kaito was chasing after him- maybe he’d finally realized that Kokichi was the one responsible for putting the hermit crab in his bag of chips as he napped, or maybe Kokichi had stolen one of his fireworks, or maybe something completely different. But the way Kokichi’s eyes shone in absolute glee as he ran, the way his features were illuminated by the light of the sparklers, the way his lean body maneuvered across the sand as he tripped Kaito and fled…

That increasingly-familiar emotion swelled inside Shuichi, and when he finally put the pieces together to name what it was, he uttered a quiet,

“Oh, fuck.”

**Author's Note:**

> hit me up on twitter @doomtemp ! Or just ask questions here :P


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